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Saturday, 30 May 2009

We took Jack to see Nickelback at the O2 again this week and it was phenomenal!! He loves these guys and has been so excited about going to see them, it was contagious. The coolest thing was that they were shooting their video for 'Burn It To The Ground' and the atmosphere was great. Who knows we may even get to see ourselves on MTV sometime?!

Jack sang his head off through the whole concert and even us old folks joined in from time to time. The pyrotechnics were brilliant and they had developed the t-shirt cannons into t-shirt sniper rifles which shot really far into the crowd. As we were in the nosebleed seats we didn't get anywhere near a freebie t-shirt so Jack got himself another tour shirt to add to his collection along with a poster. His room really looks like a teenager's now - tour posters everywhere!

Apparently LJ is a Nickelback fan too and we would have loved to have taken him but Dave still isn't allowed to see the kids for any meaningful amount of time. The sad thing is that the kids are missing out on cool stuff like this because of it - its such a shame that they end up being punished because of their Mum's insecurities.

Friday, 29 May 2009

I'm switching things around in June and we'll be doing the single page kit first this time - it just keeps us all on our toes!! The kit is in tones of spring green, turquoise and navy and works really well with all sorts of different photo themes. I had a difficult choice between 2 pics of Dave in the Lake District and these 2 of Melissa as the papers worked with masculine and feminine subjects.The kit includes 4 sheets of patterned paper, 2 cardstock, a pack of Grand Adhesion word stickers, a pack of epoxy alphabet letters and a bottle of Liquid Pearls plus paper templates for the swirls and scalloped circle and full instructions for the sample design as usual. You'll need a dark green inkpad (the sample uses ColorBox Dark Moss) and 3d foam pads. I added some green crochet flowers with some pearl buttons for the centres - we have some of the flowers in the shop and both the soft green and cream ones work really well with this page. Alternatively have a rummage through your flower stash and grab a selection, you'll only need about 5 or so!

Thursday, 28 May 2009

I've loved Scrapbook Trends magazine for ages and have always looked for this mag when on trips to the US as it is as good as any idea book I've ever had. Last month it was finally published in the UK and after a bit of detective work I was able to source them for the shop!! The first delivery of the July issue arrived today and I have to say that it has to be my favourite mag available right now, stuffed full of ideas and very few adverts which is refreshing. We have them in the shop online now and are offering a small reduction off the cover price - only £5.75 each!

We also picked up copies of Scrapbooks Etc which is another US title and another one that I pick up for myself in Michaels when on trips. If you like Simple Scrapbooks (which has now sadly finished) then you'll probably like this mag, it has loads of scrapbook pages but also cards and papercraft projects. The coolest thing has to be the pull-out section near the back which has loads of sketches for ideas and some really great templates (I love the bird house!!). This title is only £3.75 and is bi-monthly - check out the May/June issue now!

You can find both of these titles together with the June Creating Keepsakes and lots more at www.totalpapercrafts.co.uk and kit subscribers get free P&P too!!!

Tuesday, 26 May 2009

I had a phone call from Meopham Village Hall the other day letting me know that our usual hall had been double booked so I have managed to find us a new venue for the Kent club tomorrow evening. We'll be meeting in the Verandah room at Istead Rise Community Centre, Worcester Close, Istead Rise DA13 9LB. Some of you may remember this as the venue for our very first all-day crop all those years ago!! There is loads of parking in front of the hall and in the car park opposite - plus its all on one level so great for bringing in your totes etc...!!

Tuesday, 19 May 2009

Now that the Finish your Pages day is over we can start to concentrate on the classes for the next crop on the 20th June. The first two classes will go up on sale this Thursday 21st May at 9pm. These aren't the order that they will run on the day, these two will be the second and third classes its just that they are the first full kits to arrive!

Soft Vintage If you like Vintage style then this class will be a must - but the great news is that the clean, cool colour palette also works really well with clean, modern photos too! The kit includes cardstock, three double sided patterned papers, a full pack of rub-ons, title cards, a full pack of pearls, vintage buttons and a cute metal key embellishment!

In Full Bloom

Immerse yourself in the fresh, fun colours of the new Bloom & Grow line from My Minds Eye - perfect for Summer. The kit includes cardstock, 4 double sided patterned papers, a 12x12 sheet of die-cuts and an acrylic swirl stamp that you'll just fall in love with.

We will have a few kits available for those attending the crop who miss out on a classroom place or who would rather complete the kit in their own time but as you may know, the classroom places tend to sell out VERY quickly so you will need to be quick to grab yours on Thursday.

Sunday, 17 May 2009

We had a great day today at the Kent Finish your Pages day, I love these days as they are really relaxed and everyone can have a natter while they get on with their scrapbooking. For the first time at one of these days we had a class, its not really the idea of these days as everyone is supposed to get their unfinished projects done but this was one we couldn't resist - a Tattered Angels Masterclass!! There are more than a few inky fingers this evening and everyone had a faint shimmer about them after playing with the gorgeous Glimmer Mists!!

Thanks to everyone who came along, it was great to spend the day with you and I now have a fab idea for our wedding cake thanks to Theresa's gorgeous cake photos!! We'll see most of you again next month for our Kent crop.

Next on our agenda is club this week and here is the sample page for Kit #2 using the totally gorgeous Bella Bella paper line from My Mind's Eye..........The kit contains 3 cardstock, 3 double sided patterned papers, a 12x12 sheet of die-cut borders, tags and titles together with a cute die-cut bird! The sample uses a 6" x 4" landscape photo but you could use a slightly larger one or even two 6" x 4" portraits. You'll need a dark brown inkpad and some small brads for this one together with an embossing tool and a mouse mat or similar surface with a bit of 'give' like a pricking mat for creating the 'lollipop' type flower embellishments.

Tuesday, 5 May 2009

For our first kit this month we have a bumper load of goodies for you to play with! We start with 4 sheets of cardstock and then we've added 6 sheets of patterned paper and then we've thrown in a whole pack of Bazzill 'Just the Edge' cardstock border strips which are great fun!!

The colours are great for pictures of guys but you could also use outdoor photos to go with the green and brown colourway - have a rummage for snaps of day trips, picnics, walks in the woods or days at the park, you might be surprised how many you have that would be suitable! The sample uses three 6" x 4" portrait and a larger 6" x 8" portrait but you could replace this with a couple of 6" x 4" landscapes which would get even more photos onto this kit.

As for extra bits and bobs, you'll just need a brown inkpad (the sample used a ColorBox Dark Brown chalk inkpad) and some 3d foam pads. I used some leftover Thickers alphabet letters for the title and I have a few packs left in the shop if anyone wants them but you'll have oodles of cardstock in this kit to cut your own title so its not essential!

Sunday, 3 May 2009

Its official! We have booked our wedding and we're getting married at the end of October in Mauritius!! We've decided to go away to get married just the two of us as it has become very obvious that the children wouldn't be able to come away with us. Dave was restricted to an hour of contact on his own yesterday, the first lone contact he has had since Christmas. The children wanted to spend a bit longer and had to phone their mum to ask for more time - what a sad situation. He is an absolutely incredible Dad and anyone can see how much his kids adore him, what more could a mother ask for her kids - I can't understand it. Anyway, we decided that if we couldn't have all of our children with us when we married we would rather be on our own and our families understand where we're coming from. This way we can also combine our wedding and honeymoon somewhere gorgeous! The pic is of the hotel we have chosen which was recommended by a travel agent who had just come back from a working trip to the island - how gorgeous does this look?! We have decided to have a church blessing when we come home followed by a wedding reception with all of our friends and family, that way we can have the quiet, intimate wedding we really want and also the fab party after - the best of both worlds. Dave is getting really into this 'getting married' thing and has started researching photographers on the island and loads more as he wants this to be really special - how lucky am I??

Friday, 1 May 2009

I have a passion for flowers on my scrapbook pages and fell in love with these gorgeous crochet cotton flowers as soon as I saw them! We have them in a range of colours including cream, white, black, pink, pale blue and deep red and they are only 99p a pack - now thats a bargain!!